Positioning Instead of Prospecting

A lot of great businesses with exceptional products and services go broke. Not because someone else has a better widget, or “the economy is bad”, but because they don’t reach the right people in the right way.

You can cry yourself to sleep at night thinking about the housing slump, the bear market, or the cost of gas; but at the end of the day – people are still buying things. Just maybe not from you.

And to top it off, they aren’t even buying things they need. As business people we all know consumers buy emotionally then rationalize it logically. Why did Susie buy that new black dress right after losing her job? If you asked her she would probably say to wear it to her next job interview; and although that may be true, deep down she knows she bought it because it made her look and feel good.

So the question shouldn’t be “How do I get people to buy from me?” it should be “How do I get people to associate something they want with me and my product/service?”.

If you are a Realtor (for example) – stop putting your face on billboards and frisbees. That’s what everyone else is doing, and if you haven’t noticed “everyone else” isn’t doing so great…

Instead it would be much more beneficial for you to determine the needs of your target audience (home buyers in a specific income range) and create something to help them, maybe a “25 Things You Better Know Before You Buy A Pre-Owned Home” to start.

With helpful information in hand you could contact a local radio station who caters to your target demographic and do a 20-30 minute interview about the topic. It’s win-win. The radio station gets great material for its listeners and you are now perceived as the expert everyone is going to want to go to when they buy a pre-owned home.

Assuming you did your due diligence and really did give your audience something they wanted – after a few tactics like this and a little time, you should be able to lighten up on the advertising while your customers come hunting you down in hordes.

Tagged as:  copywriting · marketing · positioning